Saving Seafood

CALIFORNIA: California’s commercial Dungeness crab season delayed again to protect whales

October 29, 2024 — The start of the commercial Dungeness crab season in California has been delayed for the seventh year in a row to protect humpback whales from becoming entangled in trap and buoy lines.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife said Friday that commercial crabbing will be delayed until at least Dec. 1. The situation will be reassessed on or around Nov. 15.

It’s the latest delay for the start of the commercial season, which traditionally begins in mid-November for waters between the Mendocino county line and the border with Mexico.

Read the full article at Associated Press 

A handful of crab boats experimented with a new gear. Can it keep whales from being entangled?

September 19, 2024 — A trial of innovative crab fishing gear designed to reduce whale entanglements is being hailed as a resounding success that should advance widespread use of the new technology off the California coast sometime soon.

But the reception to the trial and reports of its success have opened a window into profound conflict within the Dungeness crab fleet over the future of the industry, the squeeze of government regulations, and mistrust of the technology and those who promote it.

Read the full article at The Press Democrat

CALIFORNIA: Dungeness crab fisherman expand testing of pop-up traps amid CA’s continuous early season closures

May 26, 2024 — For Brand Little and the crew of the Pale Horse, fishing for Dungeness crab is an increasingly tight business. Like the rest of the fleet, he’s watched the crabbing season shrink, with early closures meant to protect migrating whales from becoming entangled in trap lines. But this season, he’s still pushing his traps into the sea, weeks after last month’s official closing.

It’s part of an experimental program that’s now expanded to more than two dozen boats. All using special pop-up trap systems, designed to avoid entanglements.

“It’s a lot more work. Takes maybe three to four times as long as traditional gear. It’s not easy, but what we’ve been going through isn’t easy either. I mean, we’ve had 80% of our opportunity taken away,” Little said.

While it’s lying on the ocean floor, the boat is able to locate the individual trap, and then trigger the release using a remote device. The buoy shoots to the surface, carrying the line with it. The crew retrieves the line and pulls up the trap, limiting the time a whale could come in contact with it.

Little was one of two beta testers.

Read the full article at ABC 7

CALIFORNIA: Crab fishermen test pop-up fishing gear to reduce whale entanglements

April 17, 2024 — The commercial Dungeness crab fishing industry was closed early in central and southern California on April 8 because of entanglement risks from returning Humpback whales to state waters where they forage.

Traditionally, the Dungeness crab fishing season runs from November through June using vertical line fishing gear that spans from the surface to the seafloor.

Whales can get trapped in these vertical lines, including whales that are protected as endangered.

After whale entanglements spiked from 2015 to 2018, the Dungeness crab season has faced delay or closure since 2019.

Season closures are affecting the fishing business, but now during this closure, a handful of commercial fishermen such as Brand Little, are testing a whale-safe kind of fishing gear, called “pop-up” or “ropeless” fishing gear, hoping the state will authorize this alternative for use next season, so fishermen can still work.

Commercial fisherman Brand Little described how the first test of the spring season went with about 20 fishermen.

“They said it went remarkably well. Everything popped up, everything came back, they caught crabs and they’re like, this is so much better than putting the gear in the gear shed and quit making money. We still have a couple months left in our statutory season, so this isn’t as great as the way we normally do it, but this is better than nothing,” Little said.

Read the full article at Spectrum News

WASHINGTON: Invasive European green crabs could devastate local seafood industry

February 5, 2024 — As Washington’s coastal Dungeness crab commercial season opens this week — a mean, green menace continues to threaten to create a “crab crisis” in the Pacific Northwest.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife says European green crabs are continuing to cause issues, despite efforts by the federal government.

KIRO Newsradio’s Kate Stone was invited by a local seafood company to get a firsthand look at the efforts to quell the invasion of European green crabs in Washington waters.

Read the full article at KIRO 7

WASHINGTON: Fire at Washington seafood facility destroys hundreds of crab pots before season opener

January 24, 2024 — A fire at a port building along the coast in Washington state destroyed more than 1,000 crab pots just ahead of the state’s commercial Dungeness crab season, which opens Feb. 1.

The blaze began around noon on Monday at the Port of Ilwaco, which is near the mouth of the Columbia River and north of Astoria, Oregon, KING-TV reported.

The remote area of the fire made it difficult to get enough water supply to fight the blaze, the Ilwaco Fire Department said in a Tuesday statement. About 8,500 crab pots on the deck surrounding the building made fighting the fire even more difficult, officials said. No injuries were reported.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

Crab DNA study examines possible distinct populations

January 24, 2024 — The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe is working with a diverse group of partners to learn more about the population structure of Puget Sound’s Dungeness crab by studying the DNA of both larvae and adults.

“The main question our team is looking to answer is whether Dungeness crab in the region belong to a single large population or are there multiple genetically distinct populations?” said Liz Tobin, the tribe’s shellfish program manager.

Biologists have been working with tribal and non-tribal commercial crab fishermen to collect genetic material from crab larvae and adults from 11 management areas throughout Puget Sound this year.

After genetic analysis is completed by Jay Dimond, a research assistant professor at Western Washington University, tribal and state co-managers and members of the shellfish industry will evaluate the results to determine if the population’s genetics vary throughout the region and how that aligns with the current Dungeness crab management regions and boundaries.

Read the full article at Peninsula Daily News

CALIFORNIA: Fishing crews head to sea as delayed Dungeness crab season opens

January 21, 2024 — Thursday was the day local crab fisherman had been waiting for after months of delays because of whale entanglement restrictions.

Jonathan Tin is a deckhand aboard the commercial fishing boat Pale Horse and he was ready to get to work to bring home the paycheck he hasn’t seen in months.

“We started rigging the gear in October. We’re really excited to see what’s in these crab pots,” Tin said.

The San Francisco native has been working as a commercial fisherman for seven years after getting hooked doing the job while attending college.

“I love everything about it. I love being out here in the ocean. I love working hard, running the gear. The harder you work the more money you’re going to make,” Tin said.

Read the full article at CBS News

CALIFORNIA: Dungeness Crab season begins January 5

January 2, 2023 — The commercial Dungeness crab season commences in Del Norte County, this week. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFWD) announced the Dungeness season is now open in zones 1 and 2, Sonoma County line to the Oregon border. The delay in zones 3-6, South of the Sonoma / Mendocino will continue to be restricted.

Multiple delays in opening the Crab season have been attributed to excessive humpback whale entanglements and the high number of whale sightings, according to the DFWD Assessment and Mitigation program.

Recently, an endangered Pacific Sea Turtle became entangled and drowned in commercial crabbing gear. The recreational fishery opened on November 4 with hoop nets and the recreational Crab was lifted in zone 1, California’s most northerly zone.

Read the full article at the Triplicate

CALIFORNIA: Northern California Dungeness opener set for Jan. 5

December 22, 2023 — California will open its northernmost fishing zones for Dungeness crabbers Jan. 5, with closures continuing off the central and southern coasts to avoid humpback whale entanglements, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife said Wednesday.

Zones 1 and 2 from the Sonoma/Mendocino county line to the Oregon border can start fishing in early January, with a reassessment expected Jan. 11 on whether zones 3 to 6 to the south can be opened.

Under the state’s Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program criteria, the 2023-24 Dungeness season opening has been delayed due to whale sightings and entanglements, including one humpback reported entangled in crab gear Nov. 11 in Monterey Bay.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman